merrill newman is back home with his family and he's speaking out about his time in captivity. let's bring in our pentagon correspondent bash ra farr. i understand a new statement has been released from mr. newman? >> absolutely. this statement from the elderly war veteran tells of his captors trying to intimidate him, but him finding ways around that. merrill newman is finally back home in california after more than a month in north korean captivity. >> what's the first thing you'll do? >> probably take my shoes off. i'm tired, but ready to be with my family now. >> reporter: in a remarkable news statement, newman himself explains why he think the the north koreans detained him, saying, quote, i've given considerable thought to this and have come to the conclusion that i just didn't understand that, for the north korean regime, the korean war isn't over, and that even innocent remarks about the war can cause big problems if you are a foreigner. newman says he requested for visit an area where korean partisans and anticommunist guerrilla guerrillas and possibly meet with those